The Issue With Arrangement
by Storm that Twists in Spiral
Summary: "He would love Kiku. He would make a good husband, and a good king. That was all it took, his own determination to rule Hearts as best he could. And then the Joker called the name of their new Jack of Hearts, and everything that Ludwig had been repeating in his head was thrown out of the window." Multiple GerIta one-shots in Cardverse universe.
1. Part 1

**The Issue with Arrangement! Okay, if you haven't read A Question of Arrangement, that's okay. But this is a companion to Chapter two of AQoA, my Cardverse story which is centered on Kiku. Anyways, this is basically supposed to explain why Ludwig did all the weird things that freaked Kiku out in AQoA. Also Gerita is really cute and my favorite Hetalia pairing. 3**

**Also, I really think that Ludwig's internal monologue would be 50% freaking out and overanalyzing everything and 50% telling himself to shut up. Thus, the whirlwind, grammatically-negligent voice you see below. Kay, that's all! Enjoy!**

**~Elsi**

* * *

"Ludwig Beilschmidt." That was his name. By a methodical understanding, not his own arrogance, Ludwig had known it was coming, so he slowly got to his feet and made his way through his classmates to the stage. He watched the Jokers calmly, and his stomach folded into a knot when Gilbert gave him a huge wink. Why did Gilbert have to _wink?_ Everyone would see the wink, and then they would think that Ludwig had been given the position for being Gilbert's nephew, and _oh_ he didn't want that to be the reason that they hated him as a ruler.

Calm down, Ludwig. Taking a huge breath, Ludwig turned back to stare out at the sea of faces – his _subjects_, he reminded himself. He wanted to smile, like any kind and just monarch would, but his face remained stubbornly marked in its constant frown. He could feel his heart threatening to leap out of his chest, and began to feel dizzy as he figured out what part of the ceremony was coming next.

The announcement of the Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts. His husband. Or wife, he supposed, although it would be better if he was to marry another man, because that would at least make the physical relationship easier, regardless of personality –

No. He would learn to love whomever he was assigned to marry, regardless of their gender, or their looks, or their personality. The Joker would choose the right person, right? And even if he was locked inside a horrible marriage, that would be okay, because they would be ruling together, and through that, they could learn to love each other – or at least _tolerate _each other, because Ludwig didn't want to push anyone to love him and he _knew _that he was unlovable at times. It was because he was always frowning and cleaning and worrying. But that wasn't his fault, was it? It was just the way he was, and his mother had always told him that there was nothing wrong with being himself. Oh...he had to calm down.

By the time he managed to settle his thoughts long enough to pay attention, Rome was already reading out the name of his promised.

"Kiku Honda."

There was a pause, and Ludwig stared out over the crowd. _Kiku_, Kiku was a man's name, wasn't it? It sounded foreign though – the Far East…

The pause faded away as an Eastern young man stood up, his face stricken with just a little bit of shock. The crowd parted obediently for Kiku – Kiku was a pretty name. Kiku and Ludwig. It had an okay ring to it, he supposed. Ludwig and Kiku, King and Queen of Hearts.

Getting a better look at Kiku, Ludwig decided that he would be okay. He looked calm, and was actually pretty nice-looking, and didn't _seem_ crazy, so that was probably good, and hopefully he would be amiable and able to put up with Ludwig's ridiculous personality ticks – Ludwig. Ludwig, stop. Calm. Calm Ludwig.

Kiku stuck out his hand for Ludwig to shake.

"H-hello," he said quietly. Ludwig, still in a dream, shook Kiku's hand. Distantly, he noticed that the Eastern boy was quiet and shy. He had decided that he was going to learn to love Kiku. He could do that.

"Hallo," he said, unable to help himself from bringing out the accent that he lapsed into when he was nervous. It was a little speech problem, something that he had been struggling with since he first learned to talk, but he didn't think it was a problem. At least, he hoped Kiku wouldn't think it was a problem, and he could learn to speak his speeches in a proper accent, so he would be okay. Ludwig tried to take a deep breath and settle his stomach, turning back towards the crowd. How did he look right now before these people? Could they see how nervous he was?

Their eyes seemed mostly fixed on Kiku, and Ludwig was glad. That was good. If the people liked their new Queen, he could, too. Although, Kiku was from the Far East by the look of his face and his clothing – would that hurt their rule in any way? No…the Jokers would have prepared for that sort of thing. It didn't matter to Ludwig, so it couldn't matter for anyone else. He would love Kiku. He _would._ And he would make a good husband, and a good king. That was all it took, his own determination to rule Hearts as best he could. That meant being a good king and a good husband to his new queen.

And then the Joker called the name of their new Jack of Hearts, and everything that Ludwig had been repeating in his head was thrown out of the window.

"The Jack of Hearts is Feliciano Vargas."

Of course, the name didn't mean much to him. He looked down at the origin of an excited squeak, and then a brunette jumped up from the crowd and began hurrying towards the stage with a big stupid grin on his face. Ludwig's fears and anxieties suddenly stopped short when Feliciano tripped on the steps making his way up. He didn't even react, noting that the young man tossed himself back up. Feliciano up close was shorter than Ludwig or Kiku, and he had a thinner build than Ludwig – which wasn't surprising. His hair was this sort of rich auburn color, and there was this odd little curl sticking out from the side of his head. And then he was grinning at Ludwig and Kiku with this ridiculous smile and these big, glittering auburn eyes, and there was a bounce in his step that made him reflect light in every direction at once. Ludwig considered him to be very good-looking, all in all, and there was this weird sort of perfect feeling that settled inside him just _looking_ at the man and –

LUDWIG.

"Hi!" said Feliciano, teetering a little as he moved forward on his toes to offer a hand to shake. "It's so great to meet you, Ludwig and Kiku! I'm Feliciano!"

That was all it took, and Ludwig was in love.

"Of course you are," said Ludwig as he shook Feliciano's hand. The touch was warm and golden, just like he was, and Ludwig could feel the tension in his entire body as this little ray of sunshine spoke to him. He was quite aware of the way his words had come out – harsh and pointed, when they were supposed to be smooth. Feliciano's face fell momentarily, and Ludwig opened his mouth to apologize. He hadn't meant for his words to come out sarcastically, not at all! He just wanted…ah…

He cast a look at Kiku, trying to harden his focus on the Eastern man. That was his queen – Kiku. Kiku and only Kiku. He would marry _Kiku_.

The rest of their court was announced, but Ludwig was far too busy staring at Kiku and trying to stop his eyes from redirecting to Feliciano, who was rocking back and forth on his feet with this bright little look on his face as he gave a congratulatory _ve~_ to anyone who came by.

Kiku. Focus on Kiku. Don't look at Feliciano, don't look at how good he looks in those nice brown pants, and definitely don't think about the way he said _Ludwig…_Ah. Doesn't Kiku look nice in his robes? Yes, yes he does. He spoke, too. His voice is pretty, isn't it? All shy and cute and stuff (but not quite bubbly and happy like Feliciano's and _Ludwig what are you doing stop thinking about him_).

It kind of became harder and harder as the day went on, because then it was time for congratulations, which meant that Ludwig had to try to focus on keeping his stupid accent under control while Kiku did his little bow thing – which was cute, it was very cute, and Ludwig was determined to love it very much. And meanwhile Feliciano was over there giggling and shaking hands and kissing the hands of the pretty young ladies and gentlemen and memorizing their names and introducing Ludwig. You know, Ludwig's name sounded a lot prettier when Feliciano said it…hmmm. And Feliciano was such a pretty name, too…

Watch Kiku. Kiku was important. He had to look like he was fond of his new queen, because they would be happy together. Ludwig would fall in love with Kiku and they would get married and their reign would be perfect. Absolutely perfect, right? Even though it was an arranged marriage.

At the end of the ceremony, before they split to gather their belongings, Feliciano grabbed his hand again and looked into Ludwig's eyes and tilted his head to the side and bounced a little bit.

"Ve~ Ludwig, I am so happy that we'll be working together!" said Feliciano, and _oh,_ how his voice was so pretty, and his eyes were very sparkly in the sun, and very brown, and very alluring. "Ludwig and Kiku and Feliciano! How much fun!"

"Ja…very fun," stammered Ludwig, cursing the fact that his little accent had to pop up. Hearing it, Feliciano smiled wider.

"I like how you say things, Ludwig," said Feliciano, squeezing the hand he was _still_ holding. "I speak funny, too, and Lovi and Mother and Father always say, 'now, Feli, you can't go around saying _ve_ all the time because people will think there's something wrong with you,' although Lovi doesn't usually say it so nicely because Lovi never says anything nice! But anyways, whenever they say stuff like that, I always try to ignore it, because the way I speak is a part of who I am, and anyone who really loves me will just see past it, ve~? Oh, look, there I go…" And then he broke off into excited giggles. A few seconds in, and Feliciano broke off and looked up at Ludwig, suddenly realizing that Ludwig may not be one of those people that would be so accepting of his enthusiasm.

But Ludwig had never been more in love in all his life.

"Your family calls you Feli?" he found himself saying. He didn't know why that had stuck out from Feliciano's story, but it had, and as the nickname slipped off his tongue, Ludwig found himself desperately wishing that it was _Feli_ that he would be marrying in five years.

"Yeah, and Ludwig and Kiku can do that, too!" said Feliciano.

Right. Kiku.

Ludwig shot a guilty look at Kiku and found his heart sinking to new depths. He had forgotten about that little detail. Suddenly, his determination of loving Kiku and marrying him and ruling proudly seemed…a little less strong. Maybe this arranged marriage thing wasn't what would be best, after all.

Watching Feliciano bounce off towards the direction of the attendants ready to usher him to his home, Ludwig found his spirits drooping at the arrangement he was being forced into.

The issue with arrangement, after all, wasn't gaining the love of a one man, but of losing the love of another.

* * *

**So, it was that poor Kiku thought he was being glared at the entire day, and that Ludwig hated him. Luddy is just a little intense.**

**Oh, and the accent thing. I really wanted to keep Ludwig's accent over everyone else's, but I thought it would be a little strange to give him a German accent when everyone there would speak the same way. And I don't think that Feli would sound good speaking with a German accent as well. So, Ludwig's German twitch (which is basically just Ja and replacing a lot of w's with v's and v's with f's) is going to come up very occasionally. It's what happens when he gets stressed out, and he uses it around Feli after this conversation. They are adorable.**

**~Elsi**


	2. Part 2

**More GerIta for your general enjoyment! Again, this correlates to my Cardverse AU story The Question of Arrangement, which is a Kiku-centric fic with this stuff happening at the same time. Kiku is just too distracted/purposefully oblivious and Ludwig is too careful. Therefore, this stuff really won't mix.**

**This happens between chapters 3 and 4 of AQoA. I am planning for right now at least a Part 3 that corresponds with Chapter 4 of Question, so that will happen as soon as I get around to doing it. **

**Also, I struggled for a long time with this German accent. I finally just listened to Germany speaking for like an hour. I hope it works out.**

**~Elsi**

* * *

PART TWO

No one was more surprised than Ludwig that Ludwig had kissed Feliciano before Feliciano had kissed Ludwig.

The young Jack-to-be had isolated Ludwig in one of his secret hideouts – Ludwig regretted the fact that he had a tendency to share all of his secret hideouts with Feliciano, which then resulted in him having to find _more_ secret hideouts. By this point, six months into their stay, he was running out of secret hideouts and was starting to reuse them.

The issue in question was that Vash had muttered something about Ludwig's marriage with Kiku that day. And, as every time their marriage came up, Ludwig had panicked and had needed some time to recuperate. He had shoved off Feliciano at dinner, avoided Kiku like the plague during their evening meeting, and had retreated up here as soon as possible.

See, it had been Feliciano's hideout spot, too, so there he was, head on his knees feeling sorry for himself – and hating himself for feeling sorry for himself and feeling sorry for himself for hating himself for feeling sorry for himself and it was really quite a vicious cycle – trying to ignore that he was King of Hearts and that he needed to marry Kiku at all. And acknowledging what he was trying to forget didn't help at all. Then Feliciano had walked in and squeaked, probably involuntarily.

"Oh, Ludwig, I'm sorry! I'll just go…ve…"

His little speech tick was so sad and tired that Ludwig acted on impulse.

"No, Feli, wait," said Ludwig. Hearing the exhausted tone of voice, Feliciano poked his head back in the door, shining those big brown eyes into the dark room. "Wait, I…" He wasn't sure what he actually wanted to say, so he sat there stupidly, just gazing at Feliciano and hoping that he would stay.

Luckily, Feliciano seemed to get it. Feliciano always understood, and carefully stepped in the room and shut the door with a click. Then they were alone in the semi-darkness, their only light coming from the twilight outside.

"I wanted to talk to you," said Ludwig, keeping his voice very calm. He had been considering doing this for several weeks now. Actually _telling_ Feliciano that, despite his feelings, he felt guilty about making Kiku suffer through a marriage with him. Which also meant telling Feliciano that Ludwig had feelings for him in the _first_ place. That conversation had to come, so it may as well come now.

"Oh…" Feliciano sounded distressed. Ludwig stared at him, noting that Feli was seated father away from him than was the usual for him. Usually, Feliciano was always _right there_ beside him, clinging to him. Always touching him. Ludwig loved Feli's touches, although he couldn't say that, because he was supposed to be in love with Kiku. But he _wasn't._

That sentiment must have made Ludwig's face reflect the dark turn of his thoughts, for suddenly, Feli's face bunched up into a terrible frown.

"I know what you want to say," Feliciano said. "You want to say that you don't want to be my friend anymore. That's it, isn't it? You and Kiku keep having your little conversations without me, ve, and Lili won't say anything outright, but she knows what it's like, because that was how she felt before Francis, and I know how you feel, ve. You don't want to be around me anymore, and you think I'm stupid."

Ludwig was stunned into silence, and since he was horrible at making faces that weren't frowns, Feliciano took this as a confirmation and began to cry. Those tears running down his face made Ludwig want to reach out to him and gather him close and rock him until he calmed. But Ludwig was paralyzed.

"You and Kiku both think I'm stupid, ve! Don't think I can't see it in you! You think that I sound stupid when I speak, and when I make decisions, and just because I like my pasta and kitties and pretty girls, you think I'm silly and not good enough to be your Jack!"  
"Feli - "

"When we got here, you t-told me that you would protect me from the scary kings, ve, and you always tell me that you'll keep me safe and that you're my friend, but you always exchange these looks with everyone else whenever I…s-say something that isn't as smart as you or K-Kiku and I know I'm not as…as…"

"Feliciano – "

Ludwig just sat there, unable to move, but he was able to have a voice still, and this sight was horrifying him. How could he make Feli see? He moved closer, instinctively, and Feli didn't notice, all full breakdown and what not. Ludwig's mind was in panic mode, and he knew that if he was speaking, his accent would be worse than it ever had been before, and as it was, he was rendered incapable of saying anything but Feliciano's name. But he _loved_ Feliciano, and right then, it didn't matter that he and Feli couldn't be together, because he wanted to make Feliciano feel better.

"You hate me, don't you? Ludwig and Kiku hate me, ve~! And if you don't want me to be your Jack anymore, that's okay, I'll just g-go home, and be by myself and tell my parents that they were right and that I can't d-do anything right because I'm just too stupid and that you hated me after all, even though I tried really hard to make you like me! I just wanted L-L-Ludwig to like me, ve-ah!"

His last little _ve_ was cut short when Ludwig grabbed Feliciano by the shoulders and pulled him to his chest. Then Feliciano was sitting there, practically in Ludwig's lap, and in the evening glow of the sunset through the window his teary eyes were beautiful and rich. And Ludwig had heard him stammer over his name, and hearing these words were like having someone stab him repeatedly, as he had been feeling all along whenever marriage came up, but now it was _worse, _because it was as if he was taking Feli's daggers, too. Now he couldn't think. Now he couldn't breathe, because there was this gorgeous, loving, perfect man in his arms, and his wonderful Feli was upset, and Ludwig couldn't take it anymore.

"Ve? Ludwig?"

And just as he had the first time he had met Feliciano, Ludwig couldn't help but love him, and he captured Feliciano's lips with his own.

For the first half-second, everything was stiff and awkward and Ludwig felt his panic increase, but then he felt Feliciano moving under him and kissing him back. One hand went to the back of Ludwig's neck, and Ludwig felt this incredible feeling of warmth spread through him from finger to toe to the tips of his hair. Everything in his body felt super-charged, as if Feli's infectious energy had been transferred to him for that moment in time. Then there was space between them, and Ludwig breathed in cold, Feli-less air, and he stared at the perfect man in his arms.

"L-Ludwig…"

Ludwig realized right then what he had done.

"Feliciano, I'm sorry, I vasn't…vasn't…" And then all he could do was stammer out incoherent words that were bogged down with the accent he loathed. He wanted to get away, to run, but something was stopping him from moving, even more than Feliciano being in his lap. His eyes wanted to go anywhere but Feliciano's face.

And then Feli touched his cheek with wet fingers, and Ludwig couldn't look anywhere _but_ Feliciano's face. There was some sort of strange, curious look in Feli's big brown eyes, and his mouth was turned into a more vulnerable sort of expression – not a smile, exactly, and that was what worried Ludwig. He had made a terrible mistake. This conversation was supposed to be about _not_ being with Feliciano. What was he doing, and why couldn't he say the right words?

"Ludwig feels…?"

"I…ah…I f-feel…ah…"

Feliciano sat up suddenly, freeing Ludwig for movement, but then he didn't want to move. Feli scooted towards him, so that they were facing each other instead of Ludwig being forced to looked down at Feliciano.

"You have to marry Kiku." There was no accompanying noise, no happy tilt to the sentence, and that was all Feliciano said.

"I know," said Ludwig quietly. "I don't know what to do about it."

Feli's face was confused.

"Don't you love Kiku?"

Ludwig didn't want to answer that question. Hadn't it been apparent?

"I…ah…don't…maybe? I know I should, but…"

"But?"

"I don't vant to marry Kiku. I vant…I…vould rather…" Oh, his accent was so bad…it was so bad, but he couldn't fix it. "I'm sorry. I can't effen speak properly…"

Now Feli smiled and put a finger on Ludwig's lips, startling him.

"Remember what I told you the first time we met, ve? I like your accent."

"Ja?"

"Ja," said Feliciano in a bad imitation, and this time it was Feliciano kissing Ludwig. The first brushing kiss was tentative, but when Ludwig didn't recoil or speak, Feliciano continued. This time, Ludwig was more in control of what his brain was doing and what his emotions were making him think, but he didn't _care_ because Feliciano was fulfilling so many of his fantasies by kissing him _back._

"Vat does zis mean?" asked Ludwig when they broke apart. "I have to marry Kiku."

"Ve, in five years," said Feliciano quietly. Ludwig blinked. He hadn't thought about that.

"But…I haffe to live vith you, too. Forever. In five years, I can't just…"

"Ludwig, ve~…you're always so serious. How about you don't think ahead for once? Don't you want to be happy, ve~?"

"I vant to be happy and morally sound, too," said Ludwig, earning a very sexy pout out of Feliciano. The look on his face made Ludwig want to throw everything away. Maybe they could just run away, to the Great North or something. The Joker could pick someone else for Kiku to marry, and another King of Hearts and Jack of Hearts.

"I'm not morally sound, ve~?"

"You know vat I mean…"

"Ve…Ludwig?"

"Feli?"

Feliciano's brown eyes glowed, and he moved so close that Ludwig could feel his breath tickling his lips and chin.

"Have you ever considered breaking the rules?"

No, he hadn't. But now…

Feliciano's brown eyes flitted down to his mouth again before up to Ludwig's eyes, asking a silent permission. Ludwig closed the distance for him, knowing that by doing this, he was really answering Feli's question. No, he had never considered breaking the rules. But now…all he wanted to do was forget the rules and concentrate on the marvelous man he had pulled close. It was Feliciano, his Feli, and his Feli was worth a million broken rules.

* * *

**Oh, Ludwig. **

**I'll be back soon, but tell me what you think of this one? Better or worse than their first meeting? The next little one-shot involves the duo on a date - which doesn't quite go as planned...**

**Okay, that's all. Please drop me a note and go check out A Question of Arrangement! Thanks, everybody!**

**~Elsi**


	3. Part 3

**Hello, everyone! So, I've been working on this on and off for...I don't know, a while now. A few weeks, I think. I definitely wrote the first half like three weeks ago. Anyways, this is here now! It connects very nicely to Chapter 4 of A Question of Arrangement (in which Kiku goes out to dinner with Yao and Alfred and Arthur and they end up bumping into Francis, Lili, and Vash). As always, this is Ludwig and Feli's side of the story.**

**I don't own Hetalia or these lovely characters! Enjoy!**

**Elsi**

* * *

PART THREE

Ludwig was surprising himself every day, but this was a record.

"Ve, Ludwig, you look so good in that suit," said Feliciano, throwing his arms around Ludwig. He felt heat suddenly flood his face, and then he was staring at Feliciano's bright face as the smaller man draped his arms around Ludwig's neck. Feli's shirt sleeve had gotten caught, so Ludwig pulled it back down securely around Feliciano's wrist and then straightened Feliciano's collar. All the while, Feliciano just beamed at him He looked extremely good in his little ruffled shirt and pink vest and those pants that were just a _little_ bit too tight.

"Let's go," said Ludwig, feeling his face grow hot from the way Feliciano was looking at him. Nodding, Feliciano slipped his hand into Ludwig's, and the couple began to make their way down the hallway.

"I'm very excited, ve~!" said Feliciano. "You don't usually want to take me on dates, Ludwig!"

"Vell, Kiku is out tonight, and he's the only one I'm afraid of…seeing."

Feli leaned up to kiss Ludwig's cheek, making the King of Hearts blush. He knew that he should be used to it by now, but every single moment that Feliciano showed affection towards him was just that magical.

Aware and loving every second that Feliciano spent on his arm, Ludwig guided them into the restaurant, where a hooded attendant offered them menus and told them in a light voice that their special was smoked salmon and lemon asparagus, and then they were left alone. At once, Feli put down his menu and reached for the breadbasket.

"I wonder if they have pasta, ve~!" he said, groping for a roll while searching for his favorite food option on the menu.

"I'm sure they do," said Ludwig, all the while debating whether or not he wanted his entrée with grilled potatoes or mashed potatoes. It was really proving to be rather difficult, as Feliciano was humming a cute little song while buttering his bread. Everything Feliciano did was cute, Ludwig reflected, and it was going to end up getting them both in trouble. Still, he didn't mind that Feliciano was so cute, especially when he was being _purposefully_ cute to get Ludwig to notice him.

(Of course, there was never a moment when Ludwig didn't notice exactly where Feliciano was.)

Ten minutes later, Feliciano was tasting a cup of white wine with the precision of a true upper class citizen, looking more professional than Ludwig had ever seen him. Born into a not-exactly-high-class family, Ludwig had always grudgingly watched the lives of those born above him: people who knew what a good red wine tasted like and could tell you the difference between a motet and a concerto and could perform the six ballet stances with precise accuracy in under five seconds. While Ludwig had disassembled guns with his eyes closed and memorized three hundred years of artillery formations, Feliciano had painted tableaus of the South Hearts countryside and memorized three hundred years of architectural techniques.

"Ludwig, have some, have some!" encouraged Feliciano. He offered the glass to Ludwig, who took it politely and downed a mouthful of the far-too-sweet liquid. "_Pino grigio_ is my favorite wine, ve~. You usually don't find good ones outside of Hearts!"

"It's very good," Ludwig told him, handing the glass back. Movement by the door made him look up, and then Ludwig nearly died inside.

Though he was with three others (the Spades monarchs, no less), that was definitely Kiku that had just walked in the door.

"Feliciano," said Ludwig in a low voice, and he grabbed Feli's hand abruptly. Feliciano's smile was broad, so Ludwig tilted his head to where Kiku and the others had just come in.

"Oh, it's Kiku!" said Feliciano, a little too excitedly. He hopped up from his seat, as though to wander over to say hello, but Ludwig reacted too quickly. His mind in panic mode, Ludwig grabbed Feli's hand and pulled him back, farther into the restaurant and hopefully out of Kiku's line of sight.

"Ludwig, ve…where are we going?"

"Kiku can't see us," said Ludwig. He mapped the restaurant out with one quick sweep of his head, calculating distances and escape routes as if he was a prisoner of war looking to escape an enemy complex. Backing up a little more, Ludwig felt out behind him for the wall he knew was there. If they could just slip this way, they could weave through tables and escape through the door. Easy enough.

Just as he was about to turn the corner and duck behind the table on the side of the half-wall dividing the restaurant, he heard a new voice.

"I do appreciate your help, _Cherie,_ especially with something like this."

_Francis._ _And Lili, from the sound of it._

A desperation to escape filled Ludwig, and he rotated quickly to find a new route. They couldn't get anywhere near Kiku and his dinner mates, but then again, Francis and Lili would spot them for sure if they rounded the corner.

"Feliciano, stay right beside me," he whispered suddenly, glancing over his shoulder to check on Feli. He saw a glimmer of amber eyes, a beautiful smile – it relaxed Ludwig enough to make sure his head was clear. "We're going under the tables."

Checking Kiku's table, he ducked, grabbed Feliciano's hand, and darted towards the nearest table, rolling under the tablecloth and being sure not to smash into the pole in the middle. He collected Feli to his chest, military mind working so as to scout out the area again. There was a route he could plan, one to get him at least to the back of the room, where he could think.

They popped between tables with little to no fanfare, Ludwig's heart pounding. It felt like an exercise from military school, a stealth mission. He hadn't been very good at stealth missions, but the stakes so high, he could pull this off. At last, he popped up behind one of the kitchen curtains, breathing heavily, and pulled Feliciano towards him. At once, Feli's arms fell around Ludwig's neck, making him blush.

"Ve, Ludwig, you're so handsome with that look on your face."

"L-look?" He tried to fight the feeling inside of him, the one that was all about having Feliciano so close. Feli stood on tiptoe to kiss him sweetly, and just that much was enough to melt Ludwig's insides entirely.

"My knight in shining armor," said Feliciano. "Always so serious."

"Until it comes to you," said Ludwig before he could help himself, and he leaned down to kiss Feli again. He could feel Feliciano's smile against his own lips, and, forgetting about Kiku and Francis and the restaurant, he pulled the Jack of Hearts closer. Everything about this man, he wanted to keep and remember. The thought of leaving him to be with anyone else was horrible, and made him want to abandon his duties. For Feliciano, he would go to any length and do anything.

After a few blissful moments, Ludwig became aware of a movement, and he pulled away from Feli, one arm around him and the other extending the knife – the only weapon he actually made sure he had on him everywhere.

"Show yourself," he hissed into the space, hoping desperately that it was only an attendant, and not Francis or Arthur or, worst of all, Kiku.

The curtains moved aside, and Ludwig tensed when he saw Vash in the semi-darkness of the back room. The Jack of Diamonds tucked his pistol into his belt and glared at them.

"Well."

"Vash, please." Ludwig didn't know how to rationalize his behavior, but he knew that he _needed_ to get Vash to support him. "I can explain."

"No need to," said Vash curtly. "I know exactly what's going on here." He looked disapprovingly down between Ludwig and Feliciano; Feli grabbed tighter to Ludwig's arm. Military-minded Ludwig groped desperately for something to say, something to make Vash understand and help them. He had been paired with Vash for the etiquette classes for some time – he should be able to find some lead.

"We made a mistake," Ludwig said.

"The look on your faces suggests the mistake was purposeful and not regretted." Vash's words were spoken with a straight face, although Ludwig could read the amusement in the Jack's eyes.

"Ludwig offered to take me out, ve~!" said Feliciano excitedly. "He's very sweet." It probably wasn't possible for Ludwig to turn a darker shade of red, but he managed it somehow.

"And you saw Kiku and bolted?" guessed Vash. Ludwig nodded, half ashamed of himself. This was why he had tried to keep his relationship with Feli limited to stolen moments in odd corners of the House of Monarchs.

"What are you doing here, Vash?" asked Feli jovially. It was as if he didn't know anything was wrong, for he detached himself from Ludwig and went over to hug his fellow Jack as if there was no problem. After a startled moment, Vash pushed Feliciano away and dusted himself off.

"I'm here to keep an eye on my sister," said Vash. "Like always."

"Ve, We saw Lili!" Feliciano said helpfully. "She was on a date with Francis!"

"It's not a date," said Vash curtly. "It's a negotiation."

Ludwig tried to pull Feliciano back, knowing that he had no right to piss Vash off, but Feliciano refused him for once.

"Are you sure? They're all dressed up, ve~! And they look to be having a really good time! And Francis is calling her _Cherie_ and kissing her hand and – "

"He's _what._" When Vash's hand went to his pistol, Ludwig pulled Feliciano back more forcefully. The Jack of Diamonds glared between them for a moment, as if deciding to say something.

"Your _mistake_ is safe with me," said Vash sharply. "I have more important problems to handle."

Then he was gone, and Feliciano looked cheerfully up at Ludwig.

"That should distract them, don't you think?" he said with a wink. Realizing what Feliciano had done, Ludwig's throat went dry. All of his senses went into overdrive, and he tugged Feli into a kiss again, this one harder and full of all of the excitement and passion he needed to convey. When they pulled apart, out of breath, Feliciano smiled wider.

Hearing the sound of raised voices, Ludwig pushed his head out of the curtain to take in the restaurant. Now Vash was brandishing his pistol at Francis, and now Alfred and Arthur were crossing the restaurant to help. Ludwig caught sight of Kiku, leaning out of his booth to take a look at the scene, but then Alfred crossed into his vision.

"Come on," Ludwig said, taking Feliciano's hand. Ducking down so he couldn't be seen over the barrier of the booths, Ludwig rushed around the back way, veering around Kiku's chosen table in the hope that they would make it out undetected.

They made it to the hallway, out of breath, but Ludwig didn't want to stop until they were several minutes of jogging away.

"We're out," said Ludwig, leaning back against the wall as they took a moment to breathe. His heart rate calmed down, and he looked over at Feliciano, suddenly relieved that the truth of their evening hadn't gotten out.

He would have four more years of this, and then he had to give Feliciano up to be with Kiku. Marriage was already spelled out, so how could he keep doing this? Maybe a part of him had just wanted to spend one evening with Feliciano, one evening that could hopefully lead to more evenings. They only had these four years, really, and even they were stolen from Ludwig's future. But oh, was it worth it. Seeing Feliciano play with his menu, drinking wine at Feli's insistence…

Going scarlet, Ludwig realized that he had ruined everything. Because of his paranoia, because Kiku had walked in at the wrong time, their one evening had turned into a mission from Ludwig's military academy.

"I'm sorry, Feliciano," he said in a weary voice. "I ruined tonight."

Feliciano looked up, flicking auburn hair out of his eyes to stare at Ludwig in a bit of surprise. His gaze only made Ludwig more embarrassed.

"I really wanted tonight to be great," said Ludwig. "It's not fair for you to have to stay with me ven I really can't give you anything, but I thought I could make it up to you tonight, and…I ruined it. I'm so sorry for putting you through all of zis…and I know that it was probably a bad choice to take you out, but I still wanted to do it. You…you deserve so much better than vat I can give you."

"Ve~, Ludwig…"

"I'm sorry, Feliciano."

"Ludwig!" Feli took his hands, turning those huge eyes up to his face. "What are you talking about? I had so much fun with you tonight. I really did."

"But…dinner vas ruined."

Feli smiled.

"And then we got to run and hide under tables, and I got to kiss you in the curtains, and then we ran some more. I don't like running, ve, but I like it when you hold my hand, Ludwig. And you're really scary when you go all soldier, but it's really cute that you would go all soldier for me, ve~!"

"V-vat?"

"You don't have anything to apologize for, Ludwig," said Feli, standing on tiptoe to kiss Ludwig's cheek. "I don't need fancy dates or anything!"

"Really?"

"Ve~ Ludwig, you're so silly. The only thing I need is you."

* * *

**ALL OF THE CHEESE. SO CHEESY. **

**Please tell me what you thought of this installment, and thank you guys so much for your comments. I'm planning a one-shot that may turn into a two-shot to put into this, so we'll see what happens. See you later!**

**~Elsi**


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